The services sector has been positioned as the primary job engine, with the government targeting a 10% share of global services exports by 2047. Officials said services generate higher employment per rupee of output compared to manufacturing, making them critical for absorbing the workforce.
Healthcare services form a major component of the employment push. The Budget proposes adding 1,00,000 allied health professionals across 10 disciplines over five years, along with training 1.5 lakh caregivers in the coming year through programmes aligned with the National Skills Qualifications Framework. Medical value tourism hubs, AYUSH institutions and expanded health infrastructure are expected to create additional downstream employment and prepare youth for overseas opportunities emerging from mobility gains under free trade agreements.
A notable addition is formal recognition of the orange economy—covering animation, visual effects, gaming and comics—with the sector projected to require two million professionals by 2030. To build this talent pipeline, the government plans to set up content creator labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges, signalling a push towards creative and export-oriented employment.
Tourism has been positioned as a job multiplier, with plans to establish a national institute of hospitality, train 10,000 tourist guides across 20 iconic sites, and expand eco-tourism, trekking, birding and heritage circuits to generate non-migrant employment in smaller towns and rural areas.
Sports is also being recast as a structured employment ecosystem under an expanded Khelo India Mission, covering athletes, coaches, support staff, sports science professionals and infrastructure roles.Education spend shifts from schemes to structures
With a promise of a girls’ hostel in every district and an education outlay of nearly Rs 1.4 lakh crore, the Budget signals a shift from schemes to long-term structures, placing women’s access and campus capacity at the centre of its education strategy.
The education ministry allocation rises 8.3% to Rs 1,39,290 crore in 2026–27, with Rs 83,561 crore earmarked for school education and literacy (up 6.4%) and Rs 55,724 crore for higher education, reflecting an 11.3% increase aimed at expanding infrastructure and research.
A key higher-education proposal is the creation of five university townships near major industrial and logistics corridors to cluster universities, colleges and research institutions closer to emerging economic hubs. To improve enrolment and retention of women in science and engineering, the Budget also proposes capital support to establish at least one girls’ hostel in every district with higher-education STEM institutions.
The Budget further proposes setting up a new National Institute of Design (NID) in the eastern region and expanding digital learning infrastructure in schools and colleges. Support has been announced for the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies, Mumbai, to establish AVGC content creator labs, while the Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak initiative will roll out digitised textbooks in Indian languages for primary and secondary students.
On institutional funding, allocations for IITs rise to Rs 12,123 crore and IIMs to Rs 292 crore, while other premier institutions, including IISc and IIITs, see tighter budget allocations.
With inputs from TOI